Just So You Know, Depeche Mode Rules
I seriously am not trying to be a jerk, but I thought I would correct a few statements from your article about Depeche Mode ("Synth Saviors," Arielle Castillo, September 10):
Dave Gahan has been clean since the release of Ultra in 1997. People forget that Ultra was a decent success for the band.
You are right about Exciter; it did not do well and is most DM fans' least favorite album.
It was a slight tear in Gahan's calf muscle that caused them to cancel a few shows, not a sprained knee. Besides his tumor, his voice caused them to shut it down for a week as well after Lollapalooza.
I greatly appreciate that you covered the band and decided to email you with those tidbits not so you could correct them but just so you would know. Plus, my obsessive-compulsiveness got the best of me. LOL.
Bob Patrick
KANSAS CITY, Missouri
The Other COBRA
Your article on "Cobra" ("Cobra's Last Stand," Lisa Rab, September 3) was interesting but for some points. Nationally, COBRA is an acronym for Coalition of Bail Recovery Agents. We have about 1,400 agents in the association and made close to 30,000 arrests last year. It is impossible for someone to make an arrest every 1.6 days as the numbers offered by Staub suggest. A top recovery agent may arrest 80 to 120, more or less, a year. [Finding a fugitive requires an] average of two to five tracking days. Many are never found.
Bob Burton
LOS ANGELES
Mighty elegant bang-bang... fine piece of reporting and straight-ahead, damn-the-torpedoes writing. You captured the snake in full coil and recoil. Bravo.
Art Harris
ATLANTA
Kudos for Our Art Critic
Michael Mills' article "Those Who Can, Do" (September 3), about entering his photos in the Starving Artist Competition, was fun to read and, as an artist myself, gratifying that an art critic would take the initiative and try to learn about our experiences entering shows. I spoke with Mills at the opening reception and was impressed that he was able to cut through all the clutter and recognize which artist would win the Best in Show award announced later. He certainly gets my respect, and New Times is lucky to have him.
Alfred Phillips
TARPON RIVER ART CENTRE
FORT LAUDERDALE
Get It Straight, Francis
Regarding Thomas Francis' "The Elephant Hunter" article (The Juice, September 3):
I don't mind the technical errors in the author's description of the "Elephant Gun" in question, the Romanian M76 rifle, but if Francis wants to use the bodies of the 100,000-plus soldiers and civilians killed during the Balkan conflicts of the '90s as a soap box to preach gun control, he should at least get their nationality straight. The war took place in the former Yugoslavia, not Czech Republic.
Ernesto Leone
CORAL SPRINGS
Joyce T. Joins Susan B.
Joyce Tarnow reminds me of Susan B. Anthony, Barbara Jordan, Eleanor Roosevelt, and other historic and visionary women of this country ("Where in the World Is Joyce Tarnow?" TheJuiceBlog.com). She stands head and shoulders over the men and women of Congress, and she understands that we cannot continue inundating this stable American population by adding 2.5 million immigrants annually. It's not sustainable, and in the long run, we all lose our standard of living and quality of life — no matter our race, creed, or color.
This civilization stands nostril-deep in trouble. It's visionaries like Tarnow who give us a chance for a sustainable future. Incredible women like her stand the test of history. Florida cannot sustain the projected 18 million additional human beings. Since immigration drives those numbers, it's time to change course in order for Florida to remain sustainable in this century. Tarnow leads the way.
Frosty Wooldridge
Golden, Colorado
